Pizzookies

It's been ages since I've posted a recipe. We have experimented with this one in our house several times recently. We were first introduced to it at a restaurant called BJ's. I've heard it's a popular menu item at a couple of other places around the country. It's super easy to duplicate.

I cheat and use these mixes.


Mix them according to the directions, or make your own cookie dough.
It works best to bake them in individual pans, like they do at BJ's. I found these personal pizza pans and they are perfect. But you would probably get the same results from any 6 inch cake pan you might already have.

Spread the dough in your pan about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.

The bake time will probably vary with whatever recipe/mix you use but the idea is to only slightly cook it so it's basically hot cookie dough. I bake the 6 inch pans at 475° for 5 minutes.


Immediately top with a complementing ice cream and dive in.

A Favorite

These homemade cookies are really easy to mix up in a hurry, and not made from a box.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
handful of oatmeal
chocolate chips (about half a bag)

Blend together the shortening and sugars, then add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add a mixture of the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Mix til well blended. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips. Drop scoops on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. It's closer to 10 for my oven. Don't overbake. They're perfect when their flaky and crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The recipe makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

The Big One

This is a recipe from my husband's grandma who passed away about 2 1/2 years ago. A wonderful lady who lived a very full life. Much of her life was spent in the kitchen cooking up something delicious for her family. These cookies were always in her freezer, among other yummy treats.

I think they're called Monster Cookies for several reasons. Monster size, monster batch of dough, monster calories....

Morning sickness still plagues me to a degree but it's much better. I don't feel like I want to go pick out my casket anymore. I actually tasted a small bite of these and didn't feel the need to dry heave afterwards.

Here is the recipe in her own words (with my translations).

Monster Cookies

6 eggs
1 # brown sugar (2 1/4 cups)
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp Karo syrup
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 # butter or oleo (2 sticks, softened)
1 1/2 # peanut butter (3 cups)
9 cups oatmeal (quick rolled oats)
1/2 # chocolate chips (about 3/4 of a bag)
1/2 # M&M's
coconut (if desired - this would make the cookie more chewy)

Blend everything together, but stir in the the oatmeal, chips and m&m's. Scoop large amount onto baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. Smash the dough down a little before baking at 350° for about 15 to 20 minutes. Depends on how soft you want them.
What's interesting is this is a half batch recipe. Using a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie will yield about 20 cookies this big:

Colonial Oatmeal Cookies

Bridget made this recipe from a church cookbook. Supposedly the recipe is over 200 years old. She halved the recipe and it still made tons. She also didn't dip the glass in sugar. She melted chocolate chips and dipped half the cookie in the melted chocolate. Sounds good to me! ☺

Colonial Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups soft butter (not margarine)
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups white flour
4 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Shape into balls a little larger than an English Walnut. Place on greased cookie sheets. Flatten with a glass first dipped in water, then in white sugar. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Be careful not to overbake!! Makes about 4 dozen.

A Fall Recipe

Had a loverly Labor Day and then yesterday I finally got a chance to try this recipe out. It's from a really old Martha Stewart magazine. Never too early to bust out the pumpkin recipes I always say. ☺
These cookies are very soft and moist. I've never had brown butter icing before and it just might be my new favorite!

Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
11 ounces (2 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin (14 oz)
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp evaporated milk (plus more if needed)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract, divided
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a large coupler and a 1/2-inch plain round tip; set aside. (I'm sure you could use a Ziploc bag and cut the corner if you don't own any cake decorating stuff.)

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream 12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) butter and the brown sugar on medium speed of a mixer until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. On low speed, add pumpkin, 3/4 cup milk, and 1 tsp vanilla; mix until combined, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, until well combined.

3. Transfer batter to pastry bag. Holding tip close to parchment paper, pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds 1 inch apart (piping them does make a difference in the appearance of the cookies when they are baked). Bake until tops are springy to the touch, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt remaining 10 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes (mine took several more minutes after cranking the heat to med-high).

5. Immediately pour batter over sugar, scraping any brown bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add remaining 5 Tbsp of milk and remaining 2 tsp vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 tsp icing on each cookie. (If icing becomes stiff, stir in a little more milk until spreadable.) Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

101 Things...

Tried this one from "101 Things To Do With Chocolate" by Stephanie Ashcraft.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Sandwich Cookies
1 white cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix, eggs and oil until cookie dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop teaspoons of dough onto a baking sheet. Bake 8-11 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Do not overcook. Allow cookies to cool. Place a scoop of the filling between 2 cookies. Store in refrigerator. Makes 15-18 sandwich cookies.

Filling
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 small box chocolate instant pudding mix

Whisk together the milk and peanut butter. Whisk in pudding mix and then refrigerate until ready to use.

*My kids liked these frozen.

Quick Cookies

The only cake mix cookies I've ever made before this one are the Rolo Cookies. There are so many possibilities! I bet this recipe would be good with a chocolate cake mix too.

In A Hurry Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 (18.25 oz) pkg. yellow cake mix

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together the eggs, water, butter and peanut butter. Add the cake mix and blend well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*I added some chopped pecans to the last pan to go in the oven which made them even better.

THESE ARE SO GOOD!

That's all I really need to say. Just trust me.

White Chocolate Chip Orange Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp orange zest
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and orange zest. Stir the flour, baking soda and salt together and mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in the white chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes on pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen.

Oh Mama!!

These are to die for. They're similar to the yummy Cake Balls but different. Here are a few variations we tried. You may want to come up with your own concoction.

Truffles

1. Crush an entire package of regular Oreo's by putting them in a large Ziploc and beating them with a meat mallet or a rolling pin. Crush them as fine as you can. Mix them in a mixer with 1 block of softened cream cheese until well blended together. Roll them into little balls, place them on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Put them in the fridge for about an hour. Then dip them into some melted chocolate chips (I prefer Milk Chocolate). Use a toothpick or slotted spoon, whatever works best for you. Set them on the wax paper to harden. I will probably thin out the melted chocolate chips with a little Crisco next time to make the dipping part easier and prettier. After you dip them you can either put them back in the fridge or eat them right away.

2. Crush 3 Butterfinger bars and add them to the crushed Oreo's and then proceed as above.

3. Crush a package of Nutter Butters instead of Oreo's and then proceed as above.

OREOS

Make these cookies from the Rolo Cookie recipe - minus the Rolo's. Then make frosting to sandwich between them.

There are a few yummy frosting choices.

Regular old white frosting:

4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
5 Tbsp milk (give or take to make the consistency you want)
1 tsp vanilla
Blend all together until smooth, adding more milk if necessary.

OR

Go a little crazy and make mint Oreos by substituting the vanilla with mint extract to the above recipe and adding some green food coloring.

OR

Get fancy and make Cream Cheese Frosting (you will end up eating more than your share of these).

4 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
Blend it all together until smooth.

Winner

Try the latest Pillsbury Bake-off winner, Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. They are super delicious. But here's where the chocolate comes in. We liked them best with chocolate ice-cream sandwiched between two cookies.
Oh boy, were they good!


1/4 cup peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough, well chilled

Heat oven to 375° F.
In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.
Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls.
On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with cooking spray; press into remaining peanut mixture.
Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Finally getting around to finishing up some unfinished projects this week to be posted soon. It's been busy around here so it was a welcome treat from my friend, Alyssa, when she gave me some cookies today. I also happen to have the recipe. Thanks Alyssa!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups oatmeal
1 (12 oz) pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream the butter - add and cream brown sugar and white sugar. Beat eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture, blend well. Sift flour, salt and baking soda together and add to butter mixture. Stir in oatmeal and the chocolate chips. Spoon by heaping spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

Okay, whenever we get a box of chocolates, I tend to avoid the ones with cherries - just not usually fond of that combo. But these. These are so very good. I ate several of them!

Cherry Chocolate Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and mix in until smooth. It will be thick.
Roll into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Drain cherries, reserving the juice. Press center of each ball with thumb and place a cherry in the indentation.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool. Frost with this frosting:

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tsp cherry juice

Heat the condensed milk and chocolate chips in a saucepan until the chips are melted. Stir in the cherry juice. Spoon or drizzle over the cherries in the center of the cooled cookies. The frosting will harden a little eventually but you might not be able to wait that long!
You can cut the cherries in half if you prefer less cherry and more chocolate.

Any recipe with the word 'yummy' is a pretty good gamble and worth every bite. This one is no exception. It comes from a Country Home magazine issue. The recipe calls for a from scratch cookie but we didn't have the unsweetened chocolate squares on hand so I used the Rolo Cookie recipe (minus the Rolo's). I followed the magazine's recipe for the frosting and toppings. Yummy! ☺

Peppermint-Frosted Chocolate Yummies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup all purpose flour
granulated sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat in flour until combined.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass and coat with granulated sugar; flatten cookies with sugar-coated glass. Bake in a 375° oven for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frosting & Topping
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2-3 Tbsp milk
Red food coloring (optional)
Crushed peppermint candies (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1 tsp shortening

In a medium mixing bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter for 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and enough milk to make a spreading consistency. If desired, tint pink with food coloring. Spread frosting over each cookie leaving a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with candies if desired.
In a small saucepan, heat and stir semisweet pieces and shortening over low heat until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies.
Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Oldie But Goodie

Just about everyone has had these. But maybe not. Or maybe you forgot about them.
Anyway, it is quite possibly the best cookie ever invented, and if you're like me, you don't wait until they cool. You smear one right off the wax paper while they're still warm. ☺

No Bake Chocolate Drop Cookies

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups quick oatmeal

Combine cocoa, butter, milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, peanut butter and oatmeal. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool completely.
Yields around 2 dozen.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies by Bridget
1 chocolate cake mix
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 eggs
sugar

Mix cake mix, peanut butter and eggs together. Roll dough into balls, roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet lined with foil, press down with fork making a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Rocky Road Cookie Sandwiches (a la Rachael Ray)
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped almonds
10 tablespoons marshmallow cream

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners. Using a mixer, cream the butter, and brown sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg. Mix in the salt, baking powder, and baking soda at low speed, then mix in the vanilla and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds. Drop 10 rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies until golden at the edges and slightly soft in the center, about 12 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheets to racks to cool completely. Sandwich the cookies with 2 Tablespoons of marshmallow each.
Next time we're going to put softened ice cream inside. ☺
They were very yummy, but almost too chocolatey, so I would reduce the chocolate chips for my taste.

-Amy

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

It doesn't get any better than this.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies
1 box traditional fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
(you could probably get away with regular Crisco if that's all you have)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat brownie mix, Crisco, cream cheese and egg until well blended. The dough will be sticky. Drop 2 dozen rounded spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter until it forms a ball. With your hands, roll out 24 peanut butter balls. Lightly press a ball into the center of each cookie dough. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool and then top with this topping:

Topping
8 oz tub Cool Whip
6 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate

Melt both ingredients in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and melt for additional 30 seconds or until smooth and shiny.
(You can use this topping for lots of things, including ice cream!)

Chocolate Chip Supreme Cookies

We all have a favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that is so easy and melt in your mouth good.
This is not it.
I mean it's definitely delicious but it has a few more ingredients than your basic CC Cookie recipe. But it's really worth it. Trust me. With the nutmeg and cinnamon in it, you will not be able to stop eating the dough.

Chocolate Chip Supreme Cookies (from Southern Living)
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 (3.4-ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tap ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels (I used milk chocolate)
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I only used 1 cup - the kids aren't nuts about nuts)
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats

Beat shortening and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, beating until blended. Add pudding mix and vanilla; beat until blended.
Combine flour and next 4 ingredients. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in morsels, chopped pecans and oats.
Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; place on lightly greased baking sheets, and press to 1-inch thickness.
Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool.
Yield: 3 dozen (I actually got 4 dozen of the size in the picture)

Rolo Cookies

Rolo Cookies
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
Rolo's
sugar

Mix everything together, except the Rolo's and sugar; the dough will be very thick. For each cookie roll some dough around a Rolo like a ball, then roll it sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350° for about 12 minutes.
Let them cool and then drizzle them with a glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk (give or take) and 1/4 tsp vanilla. You can top the glaze with sprinkles...like red and green for Christmas would be pretty...or chopped nuts.